Apartments for sale built on land allocated to OCU and UGCC, media report

Parish of Saints Boris and Gleb of the OCU, Ternopil, Bilohirska Street. Photo: Novyny Krainy Facebook page

Journalists have published an investigation alleging that multi-apartment residential buildings were constructed on land plots that had been transferred free of charge to OCU and UGCC religious communities for the construction of churches, spiritual centers, and other religious facilities in Ternopil. The report was published by the Novyny Krainy outlet.

According to the investigation, the projects involve more than 500 apartments. Among the examples cited is the OCU Church of St. Job of Pochaiv, where a plot initially allocated for an educational center and later designated for a church was ultimately used for a 10-story residential building containing 44 apartments.

A similar situation, journalists claim, occurred at the OCU Parish of St. John the Theologian, where a residential complex of approximately 165 apartments was built instead of the planned church facility.

The authors of the investigation also state that three apartment buildings containing more than 200 apartments stand on the grounds of the OCU Parish of Saints Boris and Gleb. They further claim that construction near the OCU Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen began with a residential building, although the land had originally been allocated for an eparchial administration and a theological seminary.

The report also cites examples involving UGCC properties. In particular, after land near the Holy Trinity Church was transferred for the expansion of the church complex, the construction of a 10-story residential building with 168 apartments was reportedly approved. In another case, part of the land allocated to the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos for a church and a family rehabilitation center was later redesignated for residential development.

The investigation further examines city council decisions, changes in land-use designation, urban planning documentation, and the involvement of religious communities and developers in implementing these projects.

As the UOJ previously reported, MP Mykyta Poturaiev stated that Ukrainians should finance the OCU and the UGCC through their taxes.

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